Castilleja rupicola
Castilleja miniata
cliff Indian paintbrush, cliff paintbrush
common paintbrush, common red paintbrush, giant red Indian paintbrush, great red paintbrush, scarlet Indian paintbrush, scarlet or common or giant red paintbrush, scarlet paintbrush
many, decumbent to ascending, unbranched, sparsely pubescent, hairs spreading, wavy, fairly short, soft, eglandular, sometimes glabrous proximally.
few to many, erect to ascending, rarely proximally decumbent or creeping and rooting at nodes, usually branched, glabrous, glabrate, or hairy, hairs spreading to ± retrorse, short to long, soft to stiff, rarely stipitate-glandular.
purple to green, narrowly, rarely broadly, lanceolate, 1.4–4 cm, not fleshy, margins plane, flat to involute, (0–)3–5(–7)-lobed, apex acute to acuminate;
lobes divergent, spreading-ascending, linear, long, not much narrower than mid blade, often with secondary lobes, creating little frilly fans, apex acute or obtuse.
green to purple, linear to lanceolate, narrowly elliptic, narrowly oblong, or ovate, (1.5–)3–8(–9.5) cm, thin and not fleshy or slightly to moderately thickened and slightly fleshy, margins plane, rarely wavy, flat to involute, whole leaf sometimes recurved downward, 0(–5)-lobed, apex acute to obtuse, sometimes rounded;
lobes ascending-spreading, narrowly lanceolate, apex acute.
2–6 × 2–3.5 cm;
bracts proximally greenish or deep purple near base, distally red, scarlet, or crimson to red-orange, rarely orange, salmon, pink, or yellowish white, ovate to orbicular in outline, 5(–9)-lobed;
lobes spreading, linear to linear-lanceolate, long, arising below mid length, apex acute to rounded.
3–15(–22) × 1.5–5.5 cm, often bearing a thin, white, powdery exudate, especially on bract surfaces;
bracts greenish, scarlet, red, red-orange, or pale orange throughout, sometimes pink, magenta, pink-purple, yellow, greenish yellow, white, or salmon throughout, or proximally greenish, distally colored as above, lanceolate to oblong-ovate, 0–5(–7)-lobed, central lobes sometimes distally apiculate;
lobes erect, linear to lanceolate, oblong, or oblanceolate, short or medium length, arising near or above mid length, central lobe apex obtuse, rounded, or truncate, lateral ones rounded to acute or acuminate.
0–5 mm.
straight or slightly curved, 25–35(–45) mm;
tube 9–15 mm;
beak exserted, adaxially green, purplish, or yellow-green, 14–22 mm;
abaxial lip deep green, reduced, 0.5–2 mm, 6–12% as long as beak;
teeth incurved to erect, green, 0.5 mm.
slightly curved, 20–48 mm;
tube 12–26 mm;
abaxial lip usually not exserted, though often visible in front calyx cleft, beak partially to fully exserted;
beak adaxially green to yellow-green or whitish, (9–)14–25 mm;
abaxial lip incurved or ascending, deep green or green, sometimes deep purple or yellowish, reduced, not inflated, visible in front cleft, 0.5–3.5 mm, 5–20% as long as beak (to ca. 33% as long as beak in some populations of var. miniata);
teeth incurved or erect, green or white, 0.7–1.5 mm.
proximally purple, green, or whitish, distally colored as bract lobes, 15–25 mm;
abaxial and adaxial clefts 8 mm, ca. 40–50% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral 1–5 mm, 10–20% of calyx length;
lobes triangular, apex obtuse or acute.
colored as bracts, 15–38 mm;
abaxial and adaxial clefts 4–24 mm, 35–70% of calyx length, deeper than laterals, lateral (1–)3–8(–12) mm, 5–30% of calyx length;
lobes linear or narrowly lanceolate to narrowly triangular, apex acute to acuminate or obtuse.
= 24, 48, 72, 96, 120, 144.
Castilleja rupicola
Castilleja miniata
Castilleja rupicola is usually found in the subalpine and lower alpine zones in the Cascade Range from extreme southern British Columbia south to northern Douglas County, Oregon. Though it can be numerous where it occurs, the species as a whole is uncommon. One atypical population occurs in a moist, shaded, mossy, north-facing ravine on the Oregon side of the Columbia River Gorge, at less than 250 m. These plants often bear secondary divisions on deeply dissected leaves and bracts.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Varieties 4 (4 in the flora).
Castilleja miniata is widely recognized as the common scarlet paintbrush. It is highly variable and has five levels of polyploidy. Nonetheless, it remains fairly well defined morphologically across its wide range. Native Americans use it medicinally. A probable hybrid with C. septentrionalis from southern Nevada was named C. ×porterae Cockerell.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Bracts distally pale yellowish, pale orange, or salmon, sometimes pale red; n, c British Columbia, adjacent wc Alberta, s Yukon. | var. fulva |
1. Bracts distally scarlet, red, or orange-red, sometimes orange, pink, pink-purple, magenta, pale orange, yellow, greenish yellow, or white; widespread in much of w North America south of the arctic. | → 2 |
2. Stems glabrous or glabrate proximally, hairy medially and distally; leaves appressed-ascending, ascending, or spreading, often thickened and slightly fleshy; calyx lobe apices acuminate; Cuyamaca, Laguna, San Bernardino and e San Gabriel mountains of sw California. | var. oblongifolia |
2. Stems glabrous or sparsely hairy proximally and medially, subglabrous or sparsely hairy distally; leaves spreading to ascending, thin and not fleshy (except sometimes in var. dixonii); calyx lobe apices acute to acuminate or obtuse; widespread in w North America. | → 3 |
3. Leaves linear to lanceolate, narrowly elliptic, or narrowly oblong, apices acute to acuminate, sometimes obtuse; calyx lobe apices acute, sometimes acuminate or obtuse; widespread in w North America, except near coast. | var. miniata |
3. Leaves narrowly lanceolate to ovate, narrowly elliptic, or narrowly oblong, apices rounded to obtuse, sometimes acute to acuminate; calyx lobe apices acute to obtuse; coastal, from extreme nw Oregon northward to British Columbia. | var. dixonii |
- Local floras:
BC, 
CA, 
OR, 
WA - Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos,
Flora NW, 
PNW Herbaria, Turner Photog. 
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist (observations)
USDA Plants Database- LBJ Wildflower Center
- SEINet
- Plants of the World Online
- Encyclopedia of Life
- Wikipedia
- Google Image Search
